Alexa Spallina breaks through uncle's press defense as Mount Sinai girls lacrosse tops Miller Place

Alexa Spallina is used to being game planned against. But when her own uncle does it, family members may need to take sides.

Spallina, a junior at Mount Sinai committed to Syracuse, is one of the best girls lacrosse players in the country. She often gets faceguarded, with additional defensive attention ready if she defeats the defender who’s never standing more than a few inches in front of her face. But on Thursday, Uncle Dan, also known as Miller Place girls lacrosse coach Dan Spallina, was the reason for the defensive approach.

“I didn’t expect him to come out with the faceguard,” Spallina said.

“My grandma was freaking out in the stands. We weren’t expecting that, especially from him,” she added with a laugh. “We’re pretty close.”

The additional defensive attention focused on Spallina allowed other players to generate offense. But Spallina still finished with two goals and three assists as host Mount Sinai defeated Miller Place, 8-7, in Suffolk Division II girls lacrosse.

“It opened a lot more opportunities for my teammates,” Spallina said. “When I see they are locking onto me, it obviously shows me some respect and when all the attention is on me, it opens up so many opportunities for my teammates and I think we did a pretty good job at that.”

Mount Sinai (6-7) had four different goal scorers, with Sophia Masone netting three, Camryn Chamberlain adding two, Kyla Orlando scoring once and Ava Clark recording two assists.

“Obviously Alexa is a phenomenal player and she gains a lot of the attention but one of the best things about Alexa is she makes everyone better,” coach Shayna Fox said. “That’s a key contributor and a key factor for every great player. They’re not just great, they make everyone around them great, and I think Alexa embodies that.”

Miller Place (7-5) opened a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. But the Mustangs tied the score at 4 by halftime with two goals by Chamberlain and Spallina scoring the final goal of the half off an assist from Peyton Choma. Hayden Young scored three goals and Mirabella Altebrando added a goal and two assists for Miller Place.

Mount Sinai opened an 8-5 lead with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter before two goals by Young. But after winning a draw control, Mount Sinai maintained possession for the final three minutes of the game, including multiple extended runs by Kayli Carannante to keep possession.

The Mustangs have won three straight games to improve their playoff positioning after dropping five straight, with four losses coming by fewer than three goals.

“Every game has been a battle this season I think but especially in this one, a crosstown rivalry, it’s always a heated game,” Fox said. “We have the family ties with the Spallinas and both of us were fighting for a playoff spot, so we knew this was going to be a battle and we were ready.”

Mount Sinai reached the Suffolk Class C final last year before falling to Bayport-Blue Point, the eventual state champions, 11-4. Spallina wants to return the Mustangs to that stage.

“We lost almost our entire starting lineup and what we’ve done so far has proven it’s not just about who you graduated,” Spallina said. “It’s about the people around you and who the coaches are and just how strong the bond is with the group and it’s going to be the same goal for us to make it back to the county finals. That’s a big main goal for us to get back there and prove everyone wrong.”